Ringgold’s Pergola gets win No. 600
The wait is over for Phil Pergola.
Pergola, who is in the second season of his second stint as Ringgold’s boys basketball coach, won his 600th career game Thursday night, when the Rams defeated Elizabeth Forward, 59-56, in a Section 4-AAA game on the road.
The 69-year-old is 600-514 in his 46 seasons, with stints at Mon Valley Catholic, Ringgold, Charleroi and California. He is one of only 11 WPIAL coaches to reach the milestone and it took a little drama for him to get there.
The victory over Elizabeth Forward snapped a six-game losing streak for Ringgold (4-9, 8-11), which included a loss to Belle Vernon at the buzzer and three games determined by 10 points or less.
The Rams, who are eliminated from playoff contention, scored 34 second-half points to defeat the Warriors (5-8, 7-14). Anthony Pampena led Ringgold with 15 points, while George Martin and Octavius Vassar both added 10.
Pergola, a 1964 graduate of Monongahela High School, began his head coaching career at Mon Valley Catholic, where he won 92 games from 1970-77 before a nine-year stint at Charleroi, which included a 24-5 overall record 1984. His longest coaching tenure has been at Ringgold, where he guided the Rams for 18 seasons from 1986 through 2004.
The run included the 1995 PIAA Class AAAA championship. After losing a close WPIAL semifinal game to Mckeesport that season, Ringgold won five consecutive state tournament games, including a double-overtime win over Erie Cathedral Prep in the Western Region semifinals and defeated Williamsport, 71-66, in the final.
Ringgold became the first WPIAL team to win the Class AAAA state crown since the state expanded to four classifications. The Rams won the WPIAL title in 1990, but lost in overtime to Glen Mills, 76-74, in the state championship game that year.
After his stint at Ringgold, Pergola served as athletic director and boys basketball coach at California, where he guided the Trojans to eight WPIAL playoff apperances. He returned to coach the Rams in 2013 and the program is 21-41 since his return.